When the PS5 launched in 2020, it was instantly hailed as a defining shift for console gaming. Along with the Xbox Series X/S, the PS5 catapulted consoles from hot and noisy 30-FPS machines to real gaming PC competitors. The PS5’s RDNA 2.0 (AMD Oberon) graphics card made 4K 60FPS gaming on the PlayStation a reality, and thanks to its serious raytracing power, gamers naturally started looking for the best PS5 equivalent GPU.
Good to know: installing a new graphics card is relatively simple once you know the steps to take.
1. RX 6600 XT: Equivalent to PS5
Price: $280
The AMD “Oberon” GPU inside the PS5 was custom-designed for the console, and, if we’re being technical, packs 9.2 TFLOPS of real-world computing power. Yet, when you compare the technical specs, the AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT resembles the PS5 GPU quite closely.
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The 6600 XT packs 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM and is capable of 10.6 TFLOPS, making the card quite similar to the PS5, with regard to graphical horsepower. The 6600 XT also features ray tracing, thanks to the RDNA 2.0 architecture. This makes it more identical in gaming performance to the PS5, unlike the RX 5000 series. If we consider the resolution, the 6600 XT is powerful for high-refresh 1080p and 1440p 60+ FPS gaming.
After years of Team Green dominance, the RX 6000 series brought the AMD vs. NVIDIA conversation back to the desktop GPU market. The best thing about the RX 6600 XT, in particular, is that it’s selling way below its launch MSRP of $379. Although it’s not ideal for ray tracing, and AMD’s FSR tech still lags behind Nvidia’s DLSS, the 6600 XT is one of the most value-for-money graphics cards you can buy today, especially if you’re trying to emulate PS5-level performance in your gaming PC.
Pros
- Great performance for the price
- Incredible power efficiency
- Runs impressively cool
Cons
- Sub-60 FPS in ray tracing
- Lacks enough VRAM
2. Intel Arc A750: Equivalent to PS5
Price: $220
Intel is still the new kid on the block of discrete graphics cards, but its first-generation Arc cards have put up an excellent showing for budget buyers. The Arc A750 is perhaps the best offering from Intel’s current stack. Featuring 8GB of GDDR6 memory and 10.6 TFLOPS of power, it is also quite similar to the PS5 GPU in performance.
If you’re wondering whether the Intel Arc GPU is good for gaming, you’ll be happy to know the Arc A750 competes with cards like the RX 6600 XT. It churns out around 70 to 80 FPS at 1440p high settings in many titles.
While the Arc A750 may not be as good as PS5 in ray tracing, it delivers playable framerates at medium ray tracing settings. Also, the Arc A750 still needs work with drivers, power consumption, and temperature. But if you’re building a budget PC in 2023, it’s a solid PS5-equivalent GPU that’s highly affordable.
Pros
- Solid alternative to budget Nvidia & AMD cards
- Hardware-accelerated AV1 and VP9 encoding – perfect for streaming
- XeSS upscaling tech
Cons
- Ray tracing performance needs improvement
- Poor temps and power consumption
Tip: don’t just look for a PS5 GPU equivalent; consult our Graphics Card Buyer’s Guide to fairly evaluate your options.
3. RX 7600: Equivalent to PS5
Price: $270
No matter how many technical specs you see, an apples-to-apples comparison between console and PC graphics can’t be made. Consoles are incredibly optimized to excel at a single task, i.e., gaming. Therefore, they can do a lot more with a lot less. The AMD Radeon RX 7600, despite packing 21.75 TFLOPS (much more than PS5’s 9.2 TFLOPS), is a great PS5 GPU equivalent.
AMD’s RX 7000 series features higher-end cards, but the RX 7600 packs plenty of power for an affordable price. The card packs more than 60 FPS gaming at 1440p resolution, even exceeding 90 FPS in some heavy titles. Enabling ray tracing effects may see your FPS dip below 60FPS, but you can still have a decent experience that’s quite similar to that on the PS5.
The RX 7600 is a hands-down winner for most budget builds if you’re shopping for a new graphics card. And while the competition may have better ray tracing performance at the same price, the RX 7600 is a more powerful card based on raw performance. If you’re up for it, overclock your graphics card to extract more performance.
Pros
- Latest RDNA 3.0 architecture and FSR 3.0
- 12GB VRAM
- Great 1440p 60+ FPS gaming
- Incredible value
Cons
- Lags in ray tracing performance
4. RTX 3060 12GB: Better Than PS5
Price: $290
The second-gen RTX series from Nvidia launched to rave reviews, due to significant gen-on-gen improvements and better prices than the ill-fated RTX 2000 series. The GeForce RTX 3060 12GB launched at an MSRP of $329 in 2021. While it sold for more than double its MSRP until over a year after its launch, its 12GB VRAM and overall performance made it an exciting value proposition.
The 12.74 TFLOPS of the RTX 3060 isn’t the only thing that pushed it ahead of the PS5. It also excels in ray tracing performance, thanks to Nvidia’s Ampere architecture, which improved a lot over the RTX 2000 series. The PS5 GPU and RTX 3060 can run AAA titles at 1080p 100+ FPS and 1440p 60+ FPS. But, with the help of Nvidia’s DLSS 2.0 upscaling, you can boost the RTX 3060’s performance even further. This makes the RTX 3060 a better pick than the RX 7600.
Since this is an older-generation graphics card, the RTX 3060 is easy to find on Amazon, Newegg, or other retailers at prices lower than its original MSRP. Comparing it to a $500 PS5, a $300 RTX 3060 can be a much better PS5 GPU equivalent option, provided you already have other relatively modern components.
Pros
- Features above-average 12GB VRAM
- Great performance, even compared to current-gen cards
- Reasonably priced
Cons
- Sub-60 FPS 1440p performance in demanding titles
- Priced close to the RTX 3060 Ti
Also helpful: upgrading your graphics card drivers can improve performance even more on your gaming PC.
5. RX 6700 XT: Better Than PS5
Price: $320
Similar to the massive number of GPUs equivalent to the PS5, many are faster. The AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT is a mid-range card from AMD’s RX 6000 series. But it can still comfortably beat the PS5, as indicated by its 13.2 TFLOPS and dedicated 12GB GDDR6 memory.
Launched at an MSRP of $479, the RX 6700 XT traded blows with the Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti, performing similarly in non-RT scenarios and losing out when RT was turned on. But, for gamers who weren’t hyped about ray tracing then, the 6700 XT represented a great way to get into 1440p gaming at high settings. Seeing that it comfortably beat the PS5, console gamers could also consider it, provided they could get it at prices close to its actual MSRP.
It only helped the RX 6700 XT’s value proposition as prices stabilized over the past two years. If you’re building a new gaming PC, you can get one for more than $100 less than its launch price at Amazon or Newegg. Also, thanks to AMD’s gradually improving FSR upscaling, the RX 6700 XT could comfortably last you for several years.
Pros
- Around 40% faster than PS5 based on TFLOPS
- Ample 12GB VRAM
- Excellent choice for 1440p gaming
- Power efficient
Cons
- Poor ray tracing performance
- Runs relatively hotter than competing Nvidia cards
6. RTX 4060 Ti 16GB: Better Than PS5
Price: $450
Nvidia’s latest RTX 4000 series cards represent some of the market’s most powerful desktop graphics cards. But you don’t need to go far up the product stack to find a PS5 GPU equivalent. The mid-range GeForce RTX 4060 Ti is much faster than the PS5 GPU, as shown by its 22 TFLOPS rating.
Nvidia released the RTX 4060 Ti in 8GB and 16GB variants. We’re comparing the PS5 against the 16GB variant. Powered by NVIDIA DLSS3, an ultra-efficient Ada Lovelace arch, and complete ray tracing, this card delivers incredible performance versus brute-force rendering.
The RTX 4060 Ti 16GB also includes Nvidia’s latest Frame Generation, and DLSS features to the 1440p 60+ and 1080p 100+ FPS performance segments. And with the recent price cut it received (and could receive in the future), it has become a great product that’s significantly faster than the PS5 and previous-gen mid-range offerings.
Pros
- Latest-gen card with DLSS 3 and Frame Generation
- Excellent 1440p performer
- 16GB VRAM
Cons
- Low double-digit improvement over RTX 3060 Ti
- Still overpriced
Good to know: if you are having issues with your NVIDIA driver download, remedy it with some quick fixes.
7. RX 6800 XT: Way Better Than PS5
Price: $550
For a minor premium over the 4060 Ti, you can get almost double the performance of the PS5 by opting for the AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT. Launched to compete against the stellar Nvidia RTX 3080, the 6800 XT undercut it by $50, while providing the same performance.
The RX 6800 XT provides 20.7 TFLOPS of power against the PS5’s 9.2 TFLOPS and 16GB of GDDR6 memory. It also has a relatively modest TDP of 300W, considering its high-end performance class. A combination of factors makes it a better choice than the RTX 3080. First, it’s still available to buy, whereas finding the RTX 3080 close to its MSRP is nearly impossible. Second, even if you find one, there’s a high chance it’ll be used or refurbished. And lastly, you get significantly more VRAM with the 6800 XT (16GB vs. 10GB or 12GB).
You can buy the RX 6800 XT from popular retailers, like Amazon and Newegg, for a price that’s around $150 less than its launch price. For the raw performance (non-RT) it holds for this price, it’s a solid recommendation for a GPU that handily beats the PS5.
Pros
- Great for 1440p and 4K gaming
- 16GB VRAM
- Considerably cheaper than the RTX 3080
Cons
- Runs a bit hot and loud
- Ray tracing performance is poorer than that of competitors
PS5 vs. Desktop GPU: How Fair Is It?
The PS5, just like previous-gen consoles, is a specialized piece of tech designed to excel at running games and little else. While you can always make technical and benchmark comparisons, consoles will always be more affordable than gaming PCs. A true comparison may remain elusive, but it’s always fun to pit desktop and console graphics against each other to see how far consoles have come over the years.
There are many reasons to switch to console gaming from your PC, but desktop gaming will always be available. You can always build the best value-for-money PC with any of these PS5 GPU equivalent cards and enjoy your favorite games anywhere.
Image credit: Canva and Unsplash
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